Miami Twice?

Miami Hurricanes Head Coach Randy Shannon and Seantrel Henderson (Photo by Vince Muzik)

Much to my surprise, USC released Seantrel Henderson from his letter of intent today. I thought they’d fight harder, but I think the decision will serve bother parties well. Based on what I know, I’m not sure Miami wasn’t Seantrel’s first choice to begin with. And here’s why:

Between 1:00 and 1:30 p.m. CST on National Signing Day, Feb. 3, a PIPOL (person in a position of leadership) at Cretin-Derham Hall High School (CDH) got a text from Trel. He was in New York waiting to announce his college selection on Tom Lemming’s TV show. The message? “Miami.” The PIPOL at CDH texted him back for confirmation: Miami? “Yes, Miami,” Trel said. That person went on to show a bunch of other employees at CDH Trel’s message. (I can name a bunch of them who saw it.) I don’t think it was a coincidence the Minneapolis Star Tribune ran that information on their web site around 2:30 p.m. Except it turned out to be wrong.

At 4:30 p.m. CST when Seantrel made his announcement, he picked USC. Either Seantrel had a change of heart or he was just being a prankster, just to tug at the chain of his superior. I’m not sure we’ll ever know the answer to that one. However, I do know something.

The visit the Miami Hurricanes got from Seantrel that last weekend in January, the NFL Pro Bowl Weekend as it turned out to be, was the visit Oklahoma was supposed to get. Heading into December, the schools on Trel’s list were “the Big 5 plus one.” The Big 5 were USC, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Florida and Oklahoma. The “plus one” was Minnesota, the local school. Two other schools were on the periphery, Iowa and Miami. Oklahoma had tried to arrange a time for Trel to visit, but things just didn’t work out. Keep in mind, Seantrel’s high school football team played until the last Friday in November when they won the state championship. After that, basketball season started and the Christmas holiday wasn’t too far past that. The available weekends for visits withered away. When Oklahoma faded, Miami became appealing and got him to visit. From everything I heard, he had a great time meeting the brotherhood of Miami Hurricanes. It does pay to persevere, doesn’t it?

Everybody’s Number One: Seantrel Visits to Ohio State

Seantrel Henderson, Tom Lemming and rivals.com’s No. 1 high school football prospect in the country from Cretin-Derham Hall High School in St. Paul, Minn., takes you through his recruiting trip to Ohio State, including his sit down discussion with Head Coach Jim Tressel.

What impressed me most about Seantrel’s visit was that the president of Ohio State, E. Gordon Gee, was at the game and made a point to introduce himself to him: “Seantrel Henderson, I know everything about you…” Memo to football recruits: If the president of the university you are visiting bothers to be there to introduce himself to you, they take football seriously! Another thing was the avuncular demeanor ( i.e., like an uncle) of Coach Jim Tressel. He seems like a cool guy, one you would like coaching your son. Can’t wait to meet him the next time he’s in the Twin Cities.

Iowa: The Unofficial Visit

Seantrel Henderson takes in the Minnesota-Iowa football game last Saturday in Iowa City along with his teammates James McGuire and Mark Alt.

As my friend from the University of Iowa Athletic Department told me, Seantrel Henderson, the No. 1 high school football recruit in the country, was the talk of the press box before last Saturday’s Minnesota-Iowa game. The conversation went something like this: “Gee, isn’t he big?”  Judging by the number of Brainerd High School players staring across the field before their game against Cretin-Derham Hall (CDH) the night before — which CDH won — being the biggest thing going has its advantages.

Seantrel Henderson profiled on Fox 9 this Sun., Nov. 22, at 9 p.m.

Fox 9 in the Twin Cities will profile Cretin-Derham Hall’s Seantrel Henderson on the “Fox Nine News at 9″ newscast this Sunday evening. Producer Julie Michaels spent time arranging interviews in order get a glimpse of the guy who has been on the radar of every college football recruiter in America since he was a sophomore in high school. “What we tried to do is get behind the scenes and find out what it’s like to be so  in demand,” Michaels said. “I think what I took away from meeting Seantrel and talking to other people about him is how humble he seems to be. He’s a big guy with a big heart, big smile and just a really nice guy. And he surrounded by a family that’s very excited about his success!”

Michaels and cameraman Ron Johnson spent an evening at an impromptu family gathering over at his dad’s place. Grandmas, grandpa, girlfriend — everyone close to ‘Trel was there. Trish Van Pilsum is the reporter on the story. This piece promises to be an interesting sketch of the person behind the football player.

goldy ain’t too proud to beg!

Seantrel Henderson (second from left) along with his dad, Sean (furthest left), get a personal appeal from Goldy Gopher at the Minnesota – South Dakota State football game last Saturday at TCF Bank Stadium. The Gophers won, 16-13, but were repeated visits throughout the season by Seantrel, the Cretin-Derham Hall star offensive lineman who’s rivals.com’s No. 1 high school football prospect in the country, enough to sway him to go to Minnesota?

Getting noticed by people is something Seantrel has had to adjust to. In a recent interview with me, Seantrel admitted his amazement at how technology played a part in being recognized by the fans on his recruiting trip to Ohio State in September: “It’s funny how technology works because everybody already knew who I am and who the other recruits were. So everybody was just screaming everybody’s name… screaming my name saying, ‘Come to Ohio State’… things like that. I didn’t know that everybody knew me like that. That kind of hit me a little bit.”

Seantrel has a few more visits left. This weekend he’s scheduled to take an unofficial trip to Iowa City to see the Iowa – Minnesota contest. Official visits include trips to USC on Dec. 5 and Florida Dec. 12. Good time to enjoy nice weather, Seantrel. Oklahoma was on his in his final five (Florida, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma and USC) plus one (Minnesota), but trip date has been set yet.